Cabaret Artist, Actress, Producer, Writer, Canadian GAL! Sharron's Blog is hilarious & heart-wrenching! Featured as a Diarist in the National Post twice, sometimes she is called on to write bits for NOW, Xtra, The List & The Scotsman. Sharron's Blog has been called "Brutally honest and funny." by Glenn Sumi of the Now Magazine on the Twitter. A guilty pleasure shared by performers & non-performers alike ALL OVER THE WORLD! THE WORLD.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

My Dear Friend Tober, my last days in the land of the Scots....and....

Can you see the scottish flag in the upper left hand corner of the pic?

That is the view out of the lovely guestroom we stayed in at my dear friend Tober's house in Freuchie......pronounced frew-key....why the hyphen?... that is the way the Encyclopedia people do it!!!After out big fast morning in Stirling we got into our rental car....which really.....frankly.....seemed like a popcan with wheels....and rode through the country to Fife....and in Fife....Freuchie...where the dear Tober resides.....when he is not in London.England.Not Ontario.Tober, George and I did 'Martin Guerre' at Canstage back in the day.....and he has lived all over the world doing many fabulous projects....singing, acting and writing....and just recently he was in the Trevor Nunn production of 'Gone With The Wind' over in London.....he said ti was quite the experience!The cast was excellent and the piece was challenging....some loved it...some hated it....what else is new?But I haven't seen Tober in about 8 years...so I was so thrilled that he and his family invited us to their country estate......and an estate it is.....

That is Georgie and myself in our 'outdoor' outifts....I wore them for the whole effing trip!!! Anyhow....Tober and his mom and dad.....Vera and Tober....that is his dads name.....well....not really his name...it is his nickname and Tobers' real name.....ahhh....Vera and Tober just call their son Toby and everything is easier! They were sooo lovely to us and they fed us and stoked up the fire and gave us drinks......it was so cozy.And they have a killer cat named Munch....like the painter.....that cat came in with a mouse during dinner and ate the whole thing.....godbless it.They gave us the most sumptuous room to sleep in...and sleep we did...like a log!!!

It was so great to see Tober...Toby....he is one of those friends who you don't see forever and when you do it is just like before....that is a gift.Thanks to his family and to Tober....for such a great visit!!!

I was sad leaving Freuchie....as they were so lovely and I only get to see Tober every few years....but I still has so much to see and time was running out my friends....So, we wave to the Reillys' ( Tobers' last name. course) and got into our popcan and drove back to Edinburgh....my sweet George thought that we could fit Holyrood Palace in.....and scope out our climb of Authur's Seat....have I mentioned that the big bang of our vacation was going to be climbing the big hill in middle of Edinburgh called Arthur's Seat......

Yup....that is it....may not seem like much....but after two people have spent the last few weeks eating their ways across the highlands....well....it is daunting....But I was mentioning Holyrood Palace....it is the residence of the Queen when she is in Edinburgh....the Queen of effing England....her real place, man.!!!I was so fucking excited!!!!

That is a ....thingie outside of the castle....now you cannot take pictures inside it....don't know why...but this palace is one of my faves....is it because she still lives there....royalty that is....or is it because Mary Queen of Scots also lived there at one time?...and they show you her rooms and all....and a place where her gay, italian secretary got stabbed.....56 times...those old timey people meant business.....when they killed you...they made sure you were dead...somewhere along our travels there was a painting of the execution of Mary Queen of Scots...and it showed the first try at slicing her head off.....yeah....it was still almost attached....uggg.....and yet...there was a woman named Maggie Blake who was hung for her crimes...in the Grassmarket in Edinburgh many years ago...and they rolled her body down the street and decided to stop at a pub along the way...those Scots get thirsty....and when they came outta the pub...she was sitting up in her coffin....I guess they didn't hang her enough....and you couldn't execute someone twice .... at that time...that is why they began to say "hung from the neck till you are dead"....Anyhow....death aside....loved Holyrood....very well taken care of and a great mix of old and new....makes me want to see Versaillies.....but the best part for me...always the ruins...was Holyrood Chapel.....

I just love the RUINS!!!!What a packed couple of days...wait....packed vacation....now....there is only one day left to do a couple of things I really want to do....George and I want to climb the seat....which really isn't something I am excited about doing....I don't really like climbing...I like hiking.....I have a different idea of that that is....remember!!!...but I wanna do it.....and I still wanna go on the double decker bus tour....can we fit it all in???